Although they were almost always described as aggressive and bloodthirsty, even the pirates tried to avoid some engagements. It was in pirate's interest to stay alive and to keep the enemy's ship in one piece. Therefore, they tried to scare their opponents so that they surrender without a resistance. With all spooky stories that surrounded them, they used their infamous flag with a variety of skeleton-like banners to mentally crush enemies. Pirates often flew false flag of some country in order to trick their victims just before they suddenly attacked.
The so-called Jolly Roger was definitely pirates' main symbol of recognizing. They were always designed to look intimidating and to conjure fear and panic. The classic one is produced black or red, with a large skeleton head and crossed bones. However, the most famous pirate captains were represented with their unique flags.
Jolly Roger has become a symbol which is widely used today. It regularly symbolizes a warning or a danger. It is used as avatar by many people like hackers or rock stars. You can also often see it as image on many vehicles, or it is marking dangerous zones like minefields.
Why Jolly Roger?
It is believed that the term Jolly Roger comes from the French "joli rouge" which means “beautiful red" and represents a French privateers' flag.
Those red flags were used by privateers and buccaneers. When shown, it meant no quarter would be given, or translated; no prisoners would be spared once the ship was captured. Later on, “joli rouge” was altered into "Jolly Roger” by the English sailors.
An alternative theory tells about Ali Raja, the fearsome leader of a group of Asian pirates. They called him “ the king of the sea ” and English pirates anglicized it to Jolly Roger for their own purpose. Finally, there is also a myth that the name came from "Old Roger" . It is a British term which refers to the Devil.
Nevertheless, since the early 17th century, Jolly Roger has represented the well-known black pirate flags. Sometimes, flags held a design that contained banners used to indicate a personal message. Some of them are well known…
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